CBS Settles with ComStar Over ‘Happy Days,’ ‘Family Ties’ Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – CBS Television Distribution and ComStar Media have agreed to settle their lawsuit over the airing of several classic series, including “Happy Days,” “My Three Sons” and “Family Ties.”

CBS sued ComStar – owned by GodTube founder Chris Wyatt and “Hour of Power” minister Robert Schuller – for $1.5 million in April, claiming that the company had stopped paying its licensing fees for the programs.

The suit actually stems from an agreement that CBS had struck with FamilyNet, which was acquired by ComStar and was also named in the complaint. According to CBS, FamilyNet entered an agreement in December 2008 to license the above series. According to the complaint, ComStar stopped making payments soon after acquiring FamilyNet.

ComStar had maintained that it wasn’t obligated to pay the licensing fees, as it didn’t acquire FamilyNet’s liabilities when they purchased it.

The terms of the settlement agreement were not disclosed.

“The matter has been amicably resolved, and the financial terms are confidential,” a spokesperson for CBS Television Distribution told TheWrap in a statement.